Toy tips for travel with toddler - long flight to the US!

[corgikelly]

Insanity (and my partner's work travel schedule) has struck - which means I am going to be flying solo with 18-month-old DS from Brussels to Seattle in mid-December. 18 hours of total travel time...

I'm looking for your best tips on keeping a toddler occupied during loooooong flights -- what are your must-have bring-alongs in terms of toys, food, etc?

We've only done one air trip with him (the same itinerary, actually), but (a) he wasn't mobile at the time and (b) there were two of us.

Any and all advice will be GRATEFULLY received!

We bought ds's flash cards (cards with pictures and word) on a long haul flight. They were small, light and kept him entertained looking at all the pictures.Also perhaps a magic writer type thing? I know he wont be able to draw but might be able to hold the pen and see the scribbles. Plenty of stickers and picture books. Perhaps a magazine that wont matter if it gets ripped? And lots and lots of snacks- triple the amount you think you need. Make sure his bottle/cup is empty on boarding the flight though because they do make you pour it out. Sealed cartons of milk/juice are fine.

Also with the snacks- stick to 'neat' things like dried fruits/biscuits/crackers and maybe white chocolate buttons. Ds got given a lollipop on take off and he got sticky hands on everything half an hour in!(not to mention hyper!)

I have just flown back from NYC today, and there was a 3 year old behind me. He was absolutely perfectly behaved, and he was was just with his mother. He slept a lot (flight was 4.20pm from JFK, so by the time we had had out meal it was probably pretty much his bed time) and his mum read to him - seems like Chuggington is is favourite book! She also had lots of other snacks for him. He was sitting next to the window too, which may have helped. Apart from overhearing some of his stories, you would hardly have known he was there, but I appreciate that 3 is a lot older than 18 months (My DS is just 2 and I would bever dream of making a transatlantic trip with him!). Is your DS old enough for films? Or a portable DVD player with some kid's TV? Can you go overnight? The cabin crew were excellent with him too, made him really involved to the extent they can (no goinbg to the cockpit these days).

We have done similar. Things that worked for us:
little boxes of dried raisins (self contained, child can hold, spend some time winkling raisins out)
A necklace made out of string and cheerios (they eat them off one by one)
1 big-ish story book with lots of different stories and 1-2 little books easy for them to hold
A small car
A muslin for 'hide and seek'
one or two wrapped small presents for crisis moments.
A change of clothes for you and for child
Lots of wipes!
gin and patience also help.
good luck